Learning to breathe
by shamazing
Summary: When you break someone's heart, how long do you think it will take before they forgive you? post Dead man's chest. Elizabeth and....


1Okay my story will be set like at the end of the third film...just when they're about to find jack.

I was watching what Elizabeth did, and I just went "aww heck no! she did not just do that"

the lyrics on bold are dividers...since a line doesnt show on The song is "The Beach" by The Racket

**I drove all night, I don't believe in the things you say they have no meaning**

**Learning to Breathe**

Elizabeth Swann got out of bed. She couldn't sleep, and the snoring pirates around her didn't help either. She took a candle and didn't even bother to put on a coat. She looked around.

_He wasn't here..._

Passing the sleeping pirates, she made her way up to the deck. The dirty pirates looked so peaceful, like little children. And like children, they respected her, and treated her as one of them. In turn, she respected them as well, she felt like a teacher to kindergarten children.

She got up at the deck and the moonlight illuminated her beautiful face. The dark canopy above her was twinkling with the stars scattered all over it. The wind was blowing in her hair, and for once in her life, she had a peaceful moment. She looked up at the steering wheel, and she saw him.

Slowly and quietly, she approached the man who had his back to her. When she was about a foot away from him, she froze at the sight of his bare back.

_Scars._

_Lashes._

She knew that William Turner never had scars those scars before. She knew that these scars were from his stay at the _Flying Dutchman_. Yet he never told her about it.

Or anything for that matter. Ever since Jack died, Will barely spoke to her the way he used to. His animated eyes, his expressions, his hands illustrating the story he was talking about. All of it went down the drain.

_Where's Jack?_

That was the last time. The last time he looked at her straight in the eye when he spoke to her. And she didn't look back at him. She knew that Will saw what she did. She knew that Will was never the one to loathe, and that he would never yell at her, or tell her how he felt about it. She felt bad, life has been unkind to Will, and when something was finally about to turn out right for him, she ruined it. All she wanted now was to know how he felt, because he was very careful at guarding his emotions, never letting a hint of it slip away. He smiled and laughed with the pirates, yet she knew it was all fake, and it broke her heart. Sometimes he saw him looking out at the sea longingly. She heard him asking about Davy Jones once.

She knew then how much pain she had brought to him. She saw how much he wanted to just cast out his heart, put it in a chest and keep it locked away from pain forever.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Will's voice broke her train of thoughts. She looked up and saw that he still had his back facing her. She looked at her hands and sighed. He never called her by her name anymore.

"No."

She thought of something to say before the silence enveloped them once again. But silence beat her to it. She looked at his hands, firmly gripping the steering wheel as he looked ahead. She wanted to hold his hands once more, even for just a second. But it was impossible, he wouldn't even look at her. After a few minutes, minutes that seemed to last forever, Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"Will--"

Her voice was caught in her throat and she was unable to speak. She just looked away, scared to see what his face looked like.

"I'll bring him back to you," He said quietly, in a kind voice that Elizabeth hasn't heard in ages. "I promise".

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"I'm sorry," was all that she could say. She meant the kiss, she was sorry for kissing Jack and hurting him.

"It's alright. I'm used to it by now," was all that he said. She saw that he didn't get what she meant. Will thought she was apologizing for _loving_ Jack.

_I'm used to it by now._

He was used to having the things he wanted and loved taken from him. His father, his family, his life...her. But Elizabeth didn't love Jack, at least that's what she tells her heart. In truth she herself was confused with what she felt.

But it hurt her so much to see Will in pain. Tears started streaming down her face. A sob escaped her throat and Will turned around the moment he heard it. She felt a warm had take hers.

"Don't cry Elizabeth. I will always love you," he said to her with a genuine smile. "But I would rather see you happy and free with the man _you _love, than here, sad and trapped by my side ."

Elizabeth's tears wouldn't stop streaming.

"Shh, don't cry," he said softly. "I will do anything just to see you happy again, even if it means seeing you happy with a man who isn't me. It will hurt, but it's better than you crying."

He enveloped her in a hug, and Elizabeth couldn't help but cry on his chest. She was crying for him, for her, for how things turned out between them. Yet she couldn't help but feel warm and safe in his arms, it was home.

"But Will," she said against his chest, "I don't...I don't love Jack. I love you"

She felt his muscles tighten at the mention of Jack's name.

"Don't force yourself to say that just so I can be happy. I can only be happy if you are," He told her sincerely. "Tell me, if you had his compass with you right now, are you sure it's going to point to me?"

Elizabeth stopped sobbing for a second.

_Will it?_

_Will it point to the man that she has known her entire life?_

_Or the location of the man who turned her life upside down?_

"I...I don't know"

She felt him smile sadly through her hair. He was too kind, letting his heart be trampled over and over again, and yet here he is offering his battered heart to her. She wanted to take it. But she wasn't sure what was holding her back.

Did she deserve to be with him? After what she did.

Could she take care of him? Like he has done with her.

...Would she be happy?

"I'll bring him back to you, I promise."

**I hit the beach, and I ran a mile. Things were just in reach, my mind was blank a while**

_How do you know if you truly love somebody?_

_You don't...you just do._

_That was what Tia Dalma told her._

_When the time comes that the person you love most is about to be taken from you...you feel like you will do everything to keep them in your arms._

_Because you know that you can not live without them._

_That you will go insane if you never heard their voice again._

_Elizabeth looked away as Tia spoke to her the night before they left to bring back Jack. _

_I just hope that it won't be too late for you._

**I couldn't breathe no more, but I took a step**

"So let me get this straight," Will said as they approached a ship being attacked by the cracken. "Are you saying that any person swallowed by the cracken doesn't die from it digesting the person? And they just stay inside until they die from starvation or disease?"

"Exactly," The wise man that they picked up from an asian island said.

"Then–" Gibbs began.

"There's a possibility that Jack is alive!" Elizabeth cried out.

The crew began to rejoice, hugging each other and laughing. Yet amidst the fast moving crowd around her, Elizabeth saw Will with his back facing her, looking at the ship. Everything around them was a blur, and Will was the only person who seemed to be standing stillHe slowly turned around and gave her a small smile.

_I'm happy for you._

Elizabeth slowly shook her head, realizing what he was thinking. Her eyes desperately pleaded with him.

_No...you don't get it. _

"I'm going in," Will declared. The whole crew stopped, and silence enveloped them. "I'll get him back."

_Back to you. _He seemed to say to Elizabeth as he turned to look at her.

Elizabeth was out of words, she couldn't say anything. She wanted to beg him to stay, she wanted to tell him that she needed him by her side

_When the time comes that the person you love most is about to be taken from you...you feel like you will do everything to keep them in your arms._

"You are a brave man," Gibbs told him. "And I know that you will come back to us."

_Because you know that you can not live without them._

"Bring the ship closer," Barbarossa yelled at the crew. "Will, you're gonna have to swim to get closer. I can't risk the ship being attacked by that monster".

_That you will go insane if you never heard their voice again._

"I understand," Will said. He slowly came up to Elizabeth. As the crew around them buzzed energetically, the whole world seemed still as Elizabeth looked into Will's eyes. She shook her head.

_Tell me, if you had his compass with you right now, are you sure it's going to point to me?_

"I promised you didn't I?" He told her, smiling as he held her hands. He leaned in to kiss her forehead.

Elizabeth couldn't talk.

_I just hope that it won't be too late for you._

"If I don't come back," He said shakily, "I want you to know that I have always loved you, and I still do."

Elizabeth's lower lip quivered as her eyes watered.

"Please be happy," was all that he said as he turned around. Elizabeth watched in horroras he went on the small boat that was being lowered. Her legs moved on their own and before she knew it, she was leaning down to see him row away from them.

"WILL!" She heard herself scream through her tears.

He simply looked back and flashed her a smile.

_I love you._

And he went on rowing towards the boat. Elizabeth ran back to her cabin, and she scrambled, looking for Jack's compass. She opened it and saw that the spinning dial was no longer spinning.

_I just hope that it won't be too late for you._

She watched through the window as Will jumped into the water.

**As I hit the floor, I think the ocean wept.**

"They're back!"

She heard somebody yell.

_They._

She ran towards them at the deck. There, lying on the floor, was captain Jack Sparrow. His eyes were shut tight, as if he was prepared to get shot, and he slowly opened one of his eyes, peeking at where he was.

"Jack!" she heard Gibbs scream as he pulled him up.

She has imagined this since they abandoned him at the Black Pearl. How he would react, how she would react. But she didn't care now. All she cared about was the bloodied man lying down near Jack.

He looked like he was dead.

_NO._

Elizabeth felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Suddenly, Will coughed up some water. A smile broke into her face.

"Will!" She exclaimed, kneeling down to his side. He opened his eyes slowly, and he smiled.

"I kept my promise," He said to her, smiling.

Totally unable to control herself, Elizabeth began to cry as she threw herself on him.

"I don't care," she muttered through her tears. "Why did you do that!"

"Because–" Will stopped as he grabbed his side. He was wounded badly. Very badly.

"Get the doctor!" She screamed. "Will!" she turned back to him. With a smile on his face, he slowly closed his eyes, his head dropping and his hand letting go of Elizabeth's.

Amongst the noise and panic, _I love you _ was all that he heard.

**And I could feel the sun down on me, I felt them waves come crashing to me**

It was raining.

On a cliff overlooking the sea at Port Royal, a young woman was kneeling down. She was alone, there were chairs, and flowers around her. All of it soaking wet as the sky wept.

_I want you to know that I have always loved you, and I still do._

Elizabeth was clad in a beautiful dress and her hair was adorned by beautiful flowers. She looked out into the ocean, as she held a bouquetof flowers, the rain drops making her vision blurry.

_It's alright. I'm used to it by now _

She looked around her. Petals were strewn all over the ground, the chairs and tables were all arranged and neat.

_She was supposed to get married._

"Elizabeth,"a voice broke her train of thoughts.

She turned around and smiled sadly.

"The rain ruined it."

The man in front of her smiled, and he went up to her, taking her hand.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened."

"It's not fair!" she said as she looked down at the bouquet of flowers"Today was supposed to be my wedding day_."_

_I will do anything just to see you happy again_

She felt a hand on her cheek.

"Hey now," Will said with a smirk. "It's _our _wedding day."

She chuckled.

"But Will," she sighed, "look around you."

"I guess I'm gonna have to marry you tomorrow," he said, smiling down at her.

"What if it rains again?"

"Then I'll marry you the next day."

"But–"

"And if it rains again, then I'll just marry you inside the church."

Pouting, Elizabeth looked up at him. He just gave her a big smile.

"Fine."

William Turner smiled as he kissed Elizabeth Swann's forehead. Just as he was about to lean in to kiss her on the lips, she giggled.

"I think it's bad luck for the groom to see his bride before their wedding," she giggled.

"Who cares?" he smiled back, and he leaned in to kiss her.

_End_

**I look up and I see clearly. Am I coming home? You were my only home**

hahaha did you actually think I'd kill off Will?

Please review...I just had to bring out how I felt, I was infuriated when I saw the movie. And I was sitting at the front so my aching neck just made it worse.


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